The Lab Sessions announce guest DJs and playlists for 'Assemble' 12.

The Lab Sessions has announced the guest DJs and playlists for Assemble episode 12, airing this Friday on Scientific Sound Asia. The station continues its role as an underground electronic music radio outlet, DJ agency and promoter, serving both expatriate and local audiences across India, China, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, the Philippines and the wider Asian region, with a strong international reach.

The Lab Sessions is an electronic music collective based in Bogotá, Colombia, developed around collaboration, cultural exchange and long-term scene building. Through radio showcases and large-scale events, TLS has worked steadily to present an authentic and evolving picture of Colombia’s underground electronic music scene, both locally and to audiences beyond the region.

Alongside this curatorial focus, the collective places strong emphasis on artistic quality and inclusivity. Their work speaks to a diverse audience made up of local listeners and international visitors, reinforcing the idea that forward-thinking electronic music is shaped not only by artists working abroad but also by Colombian DJs and producers with strong creative identity and potential.

Active since 2016, The Lab Sessions has built a consistent presence across South America, hosting events and performances in a wide range of respected clubs and alternative venues. Their history includes appearances at Octava, Klan 31, Teatron, KAPUTT, Vagabond, Bud-X Colombia, Top Secret Medellín, Armando Records, Céntrico, Mambo Alive, Sutton and Montibus Fest, alongside independent platforms such as Bassline events, TLS Parties and Eurotechno.

In recent years, their activity has continued to expand across the region, with appearances in cities such as Cali and Quito at venues including Madame Garden, La Fabryka, Groove and Dirty Sanchez. Assemble episode 12 reflects this ongoing development, bringing together the collective’s curatorial vision, regional experience and commitment to underground electronic music culture on Scientific Sound Asia.

Guest DJ Takamasa Owaki (first hour).

This week’s first guest DJ is Takamasa Owaki, originally from Kamo-gun in Japan, whose sound reflects a long international journey shaped by movement between scenes in South America, North America, the Middle East and Asia. Takamasa Owaki began his DJ career in South America, performing at events across Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador.

That early period helped define an open and adaptable approach to selection rooted in House, Nu Disco and Tech House, informed by nearly two decades of musical influence spanning 1980s and 1990s electronic music, Disco and Rock. Alongside this, early exposure to classical music at home, encouraged by his father, played a lasting role in shaping his sense of structure and atmosphere.

At the age of twenty-three, he spent two years in the United States as an agriculture student.

During this time, immersion in electronic music alongside Hip Hop, Reggae and Latin styles proved decisive, expanding his rhythmic vocabulary and setting the foundations for his DJ identity. After returning to Japan, he worked as a florist while steadily building experience through café and bar residencies, refining a sound based on flow rather than fixed genre boundaries.

Today, his sets move fluidly through Disco, Afro House, Psychedelic and Ambient textures, with Deep House and Soulful House forming the core. This approach is expressed most clearly through his Cactus Experience project, which centres on urban, refined grooves and immersive progression. Deep House selections are warm and inward-looking, Soulful House adds emotional resonance, while Chillout passages are used to release tension and reset the mood.

Alongside his DJ work, Takamasa Owaki has remained active in the studio. His recent releases include Pleasure Line and Midnight Boogie, the latter a collaboration with Shiika, both released on DIGGGz Recordings. These tracks lean into disco-informed swing and late-night house energy, closely reflecting the direction of his current DJ sets.

His career began on vinyl, and over the years, he has held residencies and performed at venues including Lavista at the InterContinental Hotel Doha, The Warehouse Wine and Tapas at Pearl Rotana Abu Dhabi, Impressions Lounge at Anantara Abu Dhabi, ToroToro at Etihad Towers and Hard Rock Cafe Bogotá. Through Cactus Experience, Takamasa Owaki continues to develop a sound built around depth, continuity and emotional connection, inviting listeners into a carefully shaped underground journey.

Guest DJ Bustamante (second hour).

This week’s second guest DJ is Bustamante, a Colombian DJ and curator whose work is closely tied to the development and visibility of the country’s underground electronic music scene. Based in Bogotá, Bustamante is the founder of The Lab Sessions.

The Lab Sessions is an artistic collective and movement that has grown into a recognised platform for emerging and established artists, as well as the long-running TLS Podcast, which connects Colombian underground sounds with an international audience. Through these projects, he has consistently focused on creating opportunities for new talent, positioning local artists alongside national and international names at festivals, club events and radio showcases across Colombia.

His musical outlook has been shaped by Techno, Deep Tech and House, with strong influence drawn from cities such as Berlin, Detroit, London and Madrid. Rather than imitation, his aim has been to translate those foundations into a sound and curatorial identity rooted in Colombia, projecting electronic culture through a local lens while maintaining global awareness.

As a DJ, Bustamante’s approach has evolved alongside technology. Early performances incorporated live and hybrid elements using tools such as Native Instruments controllers and step sequencers, before transitioning fully into CDJ-based setups. This progression reflects a broader focus on structure, rhythm and long-form flow rather than short, peak-driven moments.

Beyond DJing, Bustamante’s work remains centred on scene building. The Lab Sessions were created in response to gaps he identified within the local ecosystem, offering consistent platforms for artists who previously lacked exposure. That commitment continues to define his role within the Colombian underground, where curation and community carry equal weight to performance.

On the production side, Bustamante is currently developing original material, with his first EPs in progress. While no official releases are available yet, this studio work represents the next stage of his creative output, aligning with the musical direction he has established through his DJ sets and the wider TLS network.

The first hour, curated by Takamasa Owaki, is grounded in Deep House with Soulful and Funky House influences. Tracks such as Reduce The Speed by Wearing Shoes and In Paradise from TIER RA NICHI establish a steady deep foundation, while Torn by Wipe the Needle and Tshaka Campbell introduces a clear Soulful House presence.

As the hour progresses, disco-informed tones emerge through Carnaval by Cosmonection and Parmesano Rhodes by Panko, Samuele De Santis, and Nico S. Funk-driven House selections, including Corazon by Babert and Shovell and Fallin by Adri Block and Chris Marina, sit alongside Progress in the Manoo remix by Vince Watson, maintaining a consistent Deep House focus.

The closing section of the first hour introduces broader textures. Intro Nature by Fernando Picon brings Organic House elements, followed by For Those We Knew in the Spencer Brown and Wilt Claybourne remix, which shifts briefly into Progressive House before returning to Deep House with All Over in the Porter remix.

The second hour, mixed by Bustamante, centres firmly on Minimal and Deep Tech. Tracks such as Yesterplay by Raw Equipment, Furbished by Mancini and In The Meantime by Zambiancki and Alex Dam define the stripped-back rhythmic approach. The hour develops through tightly structured Minimal selections including Troublemaker by ANOTR and Taboulet Malgache by Oden and Fatzo, closing the episode with a clear emphasis on groove, repetition and low-end detail.

'Assemble' 12 by The Lab Sessions Crew.

Takamasa Owaki: (first hour).

Wearing Shoes - Reduce The Speed (Original Mix) [Deep Obsession Recordings]

TIER RA NICHI - In Paradise (Total Bliss Imprint) [Ghost Recordings NYC]

Wipe the Needle, Tshaka Campbell - Torn (Original Mix) [TotheRockRecords]

T-Markakis - Marvins Touch (Original Mix) [Little Jack]

Alex Agore - Isolation (Original Mix) [Moment Of Truth Records]

Cosmonection - Carnaval [Pont Neuf Records]

Babert, Shovell - Corazon (Original Mix) [Club Sweat]

Panko, Samuele De Santis, Nico S - Parmesano Rhodes (Original Mix) [About Disco Records]

Vince Watson - Progress (Manoo Remix) [Everysoul]

Harpoon - I Still Feel You Feat. Jasmin Jade (Extended Mix) [Tinted Records]

Lee Wilson, El Funkador - Complicated (Richard Earnshaw Revision) [Blockhead Recordings]

Adri Block, Chris Marina - Fallin (Original Mix) [PLAYEDiT Records]

Fernando Picon - Intro Nature [Surbeats Records]

Jody Wisternoff, Mimi Page - For Those We Knew (Spencer Brown & Wilt Claybourne Remix) [Anjunadeep]

Nudsko - All Over (Porter Remix) [Grouper Recordings] Bustamante: (second hour).

Amy Winehouse - Rehab (Kreacher Edit) [Soundcloud]

Raw Equipment - Yesterplay [PIV]

Mancini - Furbished [Moan Recordings]

Zambiancki, Alex Dam - In The Meantime (Original Mix) [Whoyostro]

Kenny Oliver - The Vibes (Original Mix) [Rawsome Deep]

Mehlor - Avalon (Demarzo Remix) [Mile End Records]

Alex Dam - Patwa [Whoyostro]

Sebastian Ledher & Toochi (SA) - Elevate (Jizz Remix) [Play Groove Recordings]

Reelow - In The Benninginng (Rigzz Remix) [Moan Recordings]

Kevin Toro & AWSI - Pollock (Aron Volta Remix) [Key Records]

ANOTR - Troublemaker [No Art]

Daze Prism - Monotype (Original Mix) [Whoyostro Black]

Cosenza - Nasty (Original Mix) [Pitch Records]

Lucianno Villarreal - Carioca Feat. Vocal Ale Castro (Original Mix) [Blind Vision Records]

Silkeepers - Everyday Is Friday [Habitat]

Mateo Dufour, Cosenza - Slap Me (Original Mix) [elrow Limited]

Mateo Dufour, Cosenza - Atlantic (Original Mix) [elrow Limited]

Oden & Fatzo - Taboulet Malgache (Original Mix) [Salin Records]

Listen on Mixcloud here.